Light of Liberty Blog has the scoop on how “the Ohio Senate on Tuesday struck a victory for states’ rights, constitutionalism and federalism.”

The Senate passed 19-12 Senate Concurrent Resolution 13: “To claim sovereignty over certain powers pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, to notify Congress to limit and end certain mandates, and to insist that federal legislation contravening the Tenth Amendment be prohibited or repealed.”

Basically, the Ohio Senate just told the U.S. government, in legislative jargon, to “Butt out!” Unfortunately, most Ohioans did not hear about it because there was very little media coverage of the vote, probably because most reporters do not understand what it means.

The governor’s reaction? He issued a press release praising the selection of Cleveland as the site of the 2014 Gay Games.

Now the vote goes to the House of Representatives. If it passes the House, Ohio will become the eighth state this year to pass such a resolution and will join the ranks of Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

The 10th Amendment simply reiterates that the federal government has only the powers granted to it by the states through the Constitution. That is, if the power to do something is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, then the federal government cannot do it.

This is called federalism. Essentially, all power in this country rests with the states, through the people. In order to provide for a common defense, the states banded together, gave some limited powers to the federal government, and listed those powers in the Constitution.

“A state-level rebellion to the Bush-era Real ID act has rendered the law virtually null and void. Thirteen states have passed various marijuana laws in direct contravention to federal laws. Two states have passed laws nullifying some federal gun regulations. And people in up to 10 states may have the opportunity to vote on state constitutional amendments effectively banning national health care.”

The Tide has not only turned; the tide is running out on Liberals. Texas currently has a bill pending on Federalism, and a Governor fully behind it.